Overview of the University's brand

It is important for UA to consistently communicate who we are and what we believe to our key constituents. That consistent communication fosters credibility, allowing each of our colleges, schools and departments to gain tremendous value from their association with The University of Akron brand.

Our President and Provost fully endorse these brand standards and urge the consistent use of these guidelines throughout our institution. In so doing, we will build awareness of the UA brand and enhance the University’s reputation for excellence.

University Communications and Marketing is responsible for disseminating and overseeing these brand guidelines, and we will gladly assist you as we move forward under a single strong brand.

We invite you to read more about our visual style and how your unit fits within the UA brand hierarchy. If you have questions about print or web applications, please refer to our online Visual Identity Standards.

Brand overview

University Communications and Marketing strives to strengthen the UA brand on a local, regional, national and international basis by developing clear messaging, visuals and marketing strategies that consistently and powerfully convey the benefits UA offers to students, parents, research partners and others.

The UA brand is an intangible asset defined by the expectations people have about us. These expectations are developed over time by what we communicate and what we do each time we interact with a future or current student, parent, donor or other constituent. Every positive interaction strengthens our brand.

Visual style

A unified visual identity is crucial to building brand recognition and shaping a strong UA brand in the communities we serve, communicating important attributes of our institution to our students, parents, research partners and donors. It encompasses names, logos, type fonts and color palettes, allowing individual UA entities who comply with our style to instantly leverage our brand value.

Used properly in all UA communication materials, our visual style will ensure a powerful presentation of the University’s brand.

It allows all entities to communicate with one voice rather than diluting our brand with multiple, conflicting brand interpretations.

It gives each entity instant recognition as a UA unit.

It consistently communicates our brand attributes to each entity’s audiences.

It saves the time and expense of creating multiple visual solutions, allowing each entity to save valuable resources.

It protects not only the University’s brand equity but that of each entity as well.

Official units are required to follow these visual standards in all communications.

Student groups are not required to follow these standards in their internal communications. However, they are encouraged to do so when communicating to off-campus audiences in an official capacity on behalf of UA.

Units and students should feel free to consult with University Communications and Marketing for advice when implementing these visual style standards.

The UA brand hierarchy

Like many universities, The University of Akron follows a hierarchical brand architecture that features a core brand for communicating the institution as a whole, followed by brand extensions and sub-brands for our individual entities. The four tiers of the UA brand hierarchy are:

Core Brand

The top tier of our brand hierarchy is The University of Akron brand. Used to represent the entire institution, it consists of The University of Akron logotype and UA symbol. It is to be used on projects that encompass the University as a whole, such as annual reports, the website, TV commercials and strategic plans.

Sub-Brands

The University of Akron sub-brands are our colleges, schools, administrative offices, support units and academic departments. They closely align with the core UA brand.

Brand Extension

Brand extension entities are linked to the core brand for strategic and economic reasons. These include the UA Alumni Association or alumni groups for individual schools or colleges. They may include element of the core brand such as the block UA or official fonts or color palettes; however, they are allowed to follow a more independent visual style.

Independent Brand

These entities include those that exist through an equal partnership among multiple universities or other organizations outside our core brand such as The University of Akron Research Foundation. Their connection to the UA core brand is presented in an understated manner.